The opening month of high school football usually ushers in the Rites of Autumn, and sends the sweltering heat of July and August into a place far from Appalachia.
At least most years. This one? We're still sweating out the long days five weeks into the season. Our beloved Muskingum Valley remains in the midst of its worst drought since the peak of Levi's stonewashed jeans and the Sony Walkman.
This, too, shall pass. As the leaves inevitably turn, the intensity on the gridiron is sure to follow.
Here is what we've learned so far:
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1. Tri-Valley football is who we thought they were
We knew Tri-Valley was built different. Ray Charles and Ronnie Millsap could see this team had lofty potential based on its returning cast and nothing has occurred to offer a rebuttal.
The Dawgs can run, throw and do it against top competition. The defense hasn't allowed more than 14 points. Even kicker Bode McCullough is one of the area's best.
Games against Philo, Sheridan and John Glenn remain in the final month. Based on the results to this point, though, I can't imagine anyone left on the regular season schedule pushing this team past three quarters. A 10-0 season would be Tri-Valley's first since Johnny Alford and Co. took on Athens' Joey Burrow in the playoffs at John D. Sulsberger Memorial Stadium in 2014. Those Scotties were special.
This one is better.
There is no question that coach Cameron West has the class of the MVL. To make this a truly historic season, at least by Scottie standards, it's all about the postseason. Division III, Region 11 is loaded, but this team has proven it belongs in the conversation with the Wattersons, Big Reds and Blue Aces of the world.
2. Speaking of Sheridan football ...
The Red Rage is still a work in progress.
It hasn’t always gone well in a 3-2 start, with the offense producing more turnovers than touchdowns in games against Licking Valley, Watkins Memorial and Licking Heights. Needless to say, this sort of thing is not what the natives have come to expect.
Rays of light officially started peaking through the glass last week. Sophomore quarterback Tyce Whiteman finally got some protection in a 23-17 overtime win at John Glenn, and the result was 174 passing yards with a pair of touchdowns. Evan Anderson caught one of them, along with two other clutch catches for big gains, in a 115-yard receiving day.
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One breakout game doesn't make a season, and it takes more than just throwing and catching for the Sheridan offense to hum like it wants — lest we forget the stretch play. But John Glenn is no slouch, especially on defense with Mitch Bendle calling the shots. Games like that are what build a quarterback's confidence.
No one is proclaiming this team to be one of Paul Culver III's great ones, but it's one that could loom awfully dangerous by Week 11 if the development continues. Getting there, of course, is no lock with New Lex and Tri-Valley coming around the mountain.
Nonetheless, this is not the type of program you want to see in a first-round matchup.
3. Big games have returned to Crooksville
It was one thing when the head coach was forced to take care of his health and step away from the job he knew wasn't finished. These things happen, even at top programs.
But when your first-year offensive coordinator walks away from a team on a Tuesday, with two straight wins to start the season, you know it’s getting bad. That's exactly what Zach Whitney did to newly hired Nathan Van Meter after a win at Racine Southern. This, from a school that featured Craig Spring, Tom Fell and Doug Clifford as mainstays on the staff for almost two decades in the 1980s and 1990s.
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All the Ceramics did was respond with two wins in their next three games, one without starting quarterback Brayson Hill and three without starting linebacker Gavin Mount. Regardless of the outcome against rival Philo this week, this team has already proven to have some jam in its game.
As for the game, both teams need it but its especially paramount for Philo's postseason hopes. At 3-2 with games against John Glenn, Sheridan and Tri-Valley still looming, this is nothing short of a must win for its Region 15 playoff prospects ― just as many predicted. Crooksville is 4-1 and 11th in Region 19, so the Ceramics have their their own needs.
McLuney oughta be buzzin' come Friday evening.
4. Don't be fooled by New Lex's loss to Tri-Valley
On paper, New Lexington's 41-14 home loss to Tri-Valley in a battle of unbeatens would appear to be a failed test. On the scoreboard, that can't be questioned.
Bigger picture, that was hardly the case.
The Panthers showed in a hard-fought win at West M in Week 3 that this is more than a pass-happy spread team that is afraid to get a little dirt under their nails. There is still a lot to like here, from the explosiveness in the throw game to a defense that is still much improved from past outfits.
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And the Panthers aren't in Region 11. For that matter, they aren't in Region 19, with the likes of top-ranked Ironton and the East Columbus All-Stars at Harvest Prep. Region 15, with the exception of proven commodities at Indian Valley and St. Clairsville, is ripe for the picking.
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There certainly isn't a Tri-Valley in that bunch. That made last week's game, which didn't factor into the Small School Division standings, a glorified litmus test for future considerations. And that includes a Week 10 clash with rival Sheridan that figures to be absolutely crucial for both teams.
Expect the Panthers to continue their climb.
5. West M is still dangerous
No one on The Hill wants to talk about moral victories. That alone shows just how far this program has developed under head coach Nathan Brownrigg, who took over at West when the team couldn't compete with the lower-tier MVL teams, let alone the best.
Now the expectations are different. Gone are the days of being content with losing by 14. It's about winning now, which places a different sort of pressure on all involved.
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That includes player expectations. On-field discipline and off-the-field commitment were areas of significant concern following the crushing losses to Garaway and New Lex. And Brownrigg, a disciple of local coaching legends Justin Buttermore and Chad Grandstaff, said after a 38-35 loss to New Lex that changes were coming to the lineup. It marked the second straight week the team lost a fourth-quarter lead.
Call it an official wake-up call to some upperclassmen who Brownrigg felt needed more personal buy-in.
All of this should make for a humdinger second half of 2024.
sblackbu@gannett.com; X: @SamBlackburnTR
This article originally appeared on Zanesville Times Recorder: The state of high school football at the midway point, according to Sam Blackburn
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